Page Nine

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Yesterday, we mentioned that we heard from someone that there was a poll going around promoting Kirk Adams. We asked about it yesterday on twitter and have since received confirmation from two other sources who were also called with the pre-recorded survey.

All three reports are virtually the same. They reported receiving an auto-poll paid for by the Kirk Adams campaign asking a series of questions. Here is the general order:

- Are you likely to vote in the race for Congress?
- Who are you going to vote for: Kirk Adams or Matt Salmon?
- Knowing that Matt Salmon has not lived in AZ the past several years but in
- DC as a lobbyist, does this change your opinion of him?
- Now, knowing this information, who are you going to vote for: Kirk Adams or Matt Salmon?
- What is your age?
- What is your gender?
- What is your religious affiliation?

A "push poll" is described as "a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as a poll." Do you see the push poll question tucked right there in the middle? The Adams campaign has been trying to promote the lobbyist issue for awhile, but now they are taking it to a new level by broadcasting it in the form of a "poll." Are they seriously trying to label Matt Salmon as some sort of carpet-bagger? Didn't he grow up in Mesa?

So the question is: why are they doing this? Is it because fundraising isn't as going as well as they had hoped? Are they trying to put out survey "results" that show the race is closer than the 30 point lead that Salmon announced? Do they think something like this would actually work?

Another question: what value will they find in the religious affiliation question. How is that going to impact this race?

We are still 10 months from this election, if Adams is already doing this, where does he go next?